Wednesday, January 18, 2017

In San Luis Obispo County, an estimated 30,000
adults have limited literacy skills in English. In Santa Barbara County, about
18 percent of adults lack basic English literacy skills, that’s 50,000 people.
And in Monterey County, according toPanetta Institute for Public Policy, 28 percent of adults
- or eighty to ninety thousand people - are unable to read or understand
written English.

Trying to decrease those numbers are several
programs around the Central Coast, offered by public libraries or non-profits.
They are all part of the California
State Library Literacy Service, which partially funds the programs.

Connor spent two years as a crisis
intervention counselor at Crosspoint Human Services, supporting individuals
experiencing crisis or trauma, before becoming the literacy coordinator at
Danville Area Community College this fall.

In her new role, Connor will
continue to help others; this time helping individuals to gain the literacy and
math skills needed to land a job or improve their quality of life.

In addition, Connor will be in
charge of recruiting and training the volunteer tutors who work with the adult
students to help them read, write and figure math better.

Laura Williams, director of adult
education, said 85 students currently receive help through theReader’s Routeliteracy
program at DACC, which is entering its 32nd year.

The Reader’s Route pairs volunteer
tutors with adults who are 16 years old or older and who read below the
ninth-grade level, whose math skills are below the ninth-grade level or who are
English Language Learners.

“It’s not just for GED students but
for members of the community who need help,” Connor said of the program. “It’s
for anyone in the community that needs literacy or math help.” READ MORE @

When Victoria Norman was growing up
in Laurel, she didn’t have anyone to help her with her homework. She and her
brother were raised by her grandparents, who didn’t do much reading and
couldn’t assist with her English lessons.

“I wasn’t that good in my English
class,” she said. “When we had to read the stories and take the test, I would
get low grades.

“I understood most of the words, but
as they got bigger, it was a problem — and putting the punctuation in and the
spelling.”

Norman, 28, dropped out of high
school near the beginning of 12th grade when she had a child. Her literacy
problems plagued her until she recently enrolled in adult education classes atJones County Junior College. There, she got the reading and vocabulary help she needed.

“When I first came, my score was
low, but when I tested on a harder book, I improved a lot and it just kept
going on and on,” she said. “The stuff I know now I never even learned in high
school.”

Many Mississippians never get the
help Norman has received. According to the most recent figures available — from
the2003 National
Assessment of Adult Literacy— 16 percent of adults in this state
are illiterate. The national rate, according to a study conducted in late April
by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, is
14 percent.

In Mississippi, there are few places
for adults who can’t read to turn.

“There are only about 23 entities in
the state who do (reading instruction),” said Caleb Smith, director of adult
education at JCJC. “That includes 15 community colleges. There are a few school
districts that do this around the state.”

Smith said a lack of literacy skills
puts an adult at severe disadvantage.READ MORE @